Sectoral factsheets for climate change

United Nations 2 years ago

The world is warming faster than at any point in recorded history. This is radically changing the Earth’s climate and releasing a wave of extreme weather, including wildfires, hurricanes, floods and droughts. But humanity can still avoid the worst impacts of this climate crisis. To do that, the Earth’s temperature must be prevented from rising to more than 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. The only way to avoid catastrophic climate change is to rapidly slash our emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide. These emissions, which come largely from burning fossil fuels, have continued to rise in recent decades despite a raft of international accords, including the Paris Agreement. To keep the 1.5°C temperature target alive, the world needs to cut 2030 emissions by 42 per cent. This must be done in tandem with climate adaptation. National Adaptation Plans in particular, are crucial for ensuring climate resilience is built into each of the sectors. By 2025, every country must commit to new National Determined Contributions (NDCs), these NDCs must cover all emissions and sectors. Global ambition in the next round of NDCs must bring global greenhouse gas emissions in 2035 to levels consistent with the 1.5°C pathway. Explore these factsheets to learn how.
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layersDaily Sustainability Digest

Published about 12 hours ago



Momentum in sustainable construction is shifting from aspiration to verifiable outcomes, with planning approvals increasingly tied to net zero whole life carbon performance targets. Regional authorities are embedding whole life carbon assessments within planning frameworks, compelling developers to integrate low carbon design and sustainable building practices from the outset. The emphasis on embodied carbon and life cycle thinking in construction marks a decisive change in planning logic, transforming environmental sustainability in construction into a measurable requirement rather than a promotional theme.

Material flows are stabilising as circular economy strategies gain regulatory support. The adoption of renewable building materials, low embodied carbon materials and recyclable feedstocks underscores an accelerating shift toward circular economy in construction models. This alignment between environmental product declarations (EPDs), sustainable material specification and resource efficiency in construction reduces the carbon footprint of construction while strengthening the market for eco-friendly construction inputs.

Cultural progress reinforces this structural transition. Academic and industry initiatives linking diversity with eco-design for buildings and sustainable building design foster innovation in energy-efficient buildings and low-impact construction at community scale. By embedding whole life carbon and lifecycle assessment principles into professional education and procurement, the industry is aligning carbon literacy with life cycle cost optimisation and building lifecycle performance.

As decarbonising the built environment becomes central to sustainable urban development, green building materials and circular construction strategies are enabling the pathway toward net zero carbon buildings. This convergence of policy, design and material science demonstrates that green construction is no longer experimental. Sustainable architecture and carbon neutral construction now define a sector decisively pursuing net zero carbon outcomes through integrated, data-driven sustainability.

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